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Lessons to Library School Grads – Don’t Be Vader.http://658point8.com/2014/12/15/lessons-to-library-school-grads-dont-be-vader/
http://658point8.com/2014/12/15/lessons-to-library-school-grads-dont-be-vader/#commentsMon, 15 Dec 2014 17:04:42 +0000http://658point8.com/?p=1053Continue reading →]]>Since I last posted on this blog, my new position as Director of the Chapel Hill Public Library has completely consumed me, or so it feels most evenings after the kids are in bed and I sit down and think, “Tonight’s the night I’m going to revive the blog!” A few hours later, when I wake up with an imprint of keyboard keys on my forehead, I groggily think, “I’ve either got to get serious about the blog or shut it down.” My hope for 2015 is to again regularly post useful words about practical marketing for public libraries – and throw in some words about leadership, public service, and serving readers (I’m still an RA gal at heart).

Today, I’m posting the text of the commencement speech I gave yesterday at the December graduation of the UNC School of Information and Library Science. Lots of folks have asked me for it, so I thought I’d put it here. Enjoy – and see you in 2015.

From Manning Hall to the Ice Planet of Hoth: Lessons for SILS Grads from The Empire Strikes Back

There are many books that graduates often receive as gifts – Oh, The Places You’ll Go by Dr. Seuss, The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch, The Tao of Pooh. They all have some sort of deep and meaningful message for grads as you start out on the next stage of your life and career. But there’s another story that I think resonates just as much for you today. One that is also full of deep and meaningful messages as you start out on your careers. And it’s not a book. If I could, I would give you each a copy of The Empire Strikes Back.

Why this movie? I think it’s a treasure trove of wisdom – right up there with Dr. Seuss and Winnie the Pooh. And it’s got AT-AT Walkers and the Millennium Falcon and a Wampa, so it’s even better.

Why this movie? I myself have learned a lot from it. When I took my current position at Chapel Hill Public Library – my first director’s gig – I did what any librarian might do. I read up. I went and cleared the shelves around the 658s and checked out every leadership and management book I could find and slogged through them. At the same time, my kids were deep into their Star Wars phase. One Friday night just after I came back to Chapel Hill, as I donned my Princess Leia hair and grabbed my lightsaber and sat down to watch The Empire Strikes Back for the 4,000th time with my boys, I realized that this movie provided as much information and inspiration as any of those leadership books had. And it’s got Cloud City and carbon freezing and Lando Calrissian, so it’s even better.

I can’t afford to buy each of you a copy – although I can recommend a great public library right here in town where you can check it out at no cost. I encourage you to set down soon and watch it – for the first or 4,000th time – and see if you see what I do.

I’ll start with what I’ve learned from considering the director of the film. Irvin Kershner – not George Lucas – directed the movie. He had his own unique vision for what the next film in the Star Wars series should be – and it was quite different from what had come before. Throughout the movie, he stayed true to that vision. He had disagreements with Lucas about the script and faced the challenges of making an outer space action movie in a pre-CGI world, but he persevered because he knew what he wanted – he could envision something greater than had come before.

I bet that many of you sitting in this room today have a unique vision – a big idea. Whether your field is bioinformatics, children’s librarianship, metadata, or preservation & archives. You have ideas that might change the field you work in – or perhaps change the world. Don’t forget those ideas that are in your head today. Stay true to that vision in spite of all the challenges – fight for it. In the end, like Kershner, you just might produce something greater than what has come before.

Here’s the other thing about Kershner – he starts out strong. The movie starts right up with Luke and the Tauntaun, then the Wampa Cave, then the Battle of Hoth. It’s hard to think of it now, but at the time, this was all completely mind-blowing stuff – no kid sitting in the theater expected all of that – especially in the first 10 or 15 minutes of the movie. It was totally different from what had come before and we knew from the start that it was going to be amazing. Kershner staked his claim early in the film and showed the world what he was all about.

As you set out on whatever’s next for you – career, more school, maybe your own startup – I encourage you to start out strong like Kershner did. Whether your new job starts next week or next year, bring that vision, those new ideas, and whenever you can, stake your claim early and often. Show the world – and your boss or dean or Board – what you are all about. From the start, take every chance you can to blow their minds.

So be like Kershner. And don’t be like Vader. Do I have to say that? Don’t be Vader. It’s easy to say – and I hope obvious – that you don’t want to end up like him. But what does that really mean? What makes Vader Vader? Here are two important things to remember about him:

One of the things that defines Darth Vader is how he deals with failure. All of those leadership books I read talk about how important it is to embrace failure – not to fear it and to learn from it. How you deal with failure is an indicator of how you will manage success. What happens when you fail under Vader’s command? It’s simple. You get force choked. Admiral Ozzel comes out of light speed a second too early and he’s dead. Vader refuses to deal with failure in any meaningful way – his own failures or those of others.

Let me tell you all something that is certain. You will all fail. Big or small. Epic or mundane. Today or tomorrow. Or maybe today and tomorrow. Failure will be a part of what you will do – professionally and personally. Get used to it. Don’t force choke yourself or others. Instead, learn from it. Take meaning from it. Don’t be Vader.

Here’s the other thing about Vader. He is who he is because he has lost his humanity. Why? Where has it gone? He has lost it to the system he serves. Joseph Campbell, in his iconic interviews with Bill Moyers, talks about Darth Vader in the great scheme of heroes and villains and myths. He points out that Vader is a slave to the system he serves – he’s been eaten up by the Empire. Moyers asks if, therefore, we should fight to change the system. And Campbell says that we can’t always change the system, but we can “resist its impersonal claims” and choose to live as human beings within the system. And use the system to serve a human purpose. I love this answer.

Whether you are going to work for a public library, an academic library, the Library of Congress, Google or Microsoft or an emerging, edgy, innovative company, there will be a system, a bureaucracy, of some form. With 22 years of service at a variety of institutions, I can tell you that bureaucratic, hierarchical systems exist everywhere. You can’t avoid them. You can’t always change them – and trust me, I’ve tried – but you can choose to exist as a human within them. Choose to remember the human purpose of the work we share.

Bureaucracy is the enemy of humanity. You are a human, with a purpose of serving humans, not systems – no matter how complex the database you are developing or how important the policy you are writing or how lofty the committee you’ve been appointed to. You are a human being, and your purpose is to serve other humans. Remember that, because the systems are out there, and if you let them, they will change you. You will begin to believe that the system you serve is more important than the people you serve. Don’t be Vader.

Here’s another thing to remember. That piece of paper you are getting today signifies that your time at SILS is ending, but I will tell you that your education is just beginning. I got my MLS here at SILS but I got my real education at Cameron Village Public Library in Raleigh, where I took my first post SILS, “professional” job. I worked alongside “paraprofessionals” who knew more than I know to this day. Grey-haired volunteers who came in to shelve books schooled me on what it means to serve the public.

What does this have to do with The Empire Strikes Back? I think of the scene when Han and Leia and Chewie and 3PO are fleeing Hoth after the big battle. They can’t get the Falcon into hyperdrive to escape and they are in full-on crisis mode. Han takes control, barking orders, flipping switches, trying everything he can think of – and ignoring C3PO. The droid who actually knows what the problem is – the hyperdrive motivator! But Han is in charge here and he can’t/won’t/doesn’t listen – in fact, he threatens to power him down.

As you set out into the world as a “master” or a “doctor,” don’t forget to listen to others, especially those C3POs out there. A part-time library assistant or departmental receptionist might just know how to jump into hyperspace when you don’t. Remember, your real education is just getting started and there are teachers for you everywhere. Seek them out and listen to what they tell you.

After talking about a droid, I need to briefly touch on the Muppet in the movie – Yoda. In the middle of the film, there is a slow and meditative section where Luke Skywalker is in the Dagobah swamp with Yoda. Luke is down, depressed, doubting everything – himself, the Force, the Rebel mission. Yoda continually counsels him that the Dark Side is precisely what is causing those feelings. The Dark Side. It is the easier path. It is seductive. It feels good. And Yoda tells Luke that he must actively resist it.

As engaged and energized and enthused as you are today, you will face the Dark Side soon enough. You will doubt yourself, your work, and why the heck you spent all of this time and money getting that piece of paper. Or maybe you will start your first job and encounter colleagues who have gone over to the Dark Side themselves. Those that have lost their humanity to the system they serve. They are jaded and negative and petty and gossipy. You think, I’ll never be like that, but in a few weeks or months or years, you start making snarky comments about library patrons or bitching about a colleague – you feel that negativity, The Dark Side, creeping in.

Don’t let it. Resist the Dark Side. Remember how proud you feel today. Remember how purposeful you feel today. That is The Force that will carry you through your first job or your fifth. The Dark Side is out there, and as Yoda would say, resist it you must.

After that serious talk about the Dark Side, I’m going to give a very important directive – Laugh It Up, Fuzzballs! This is my favorite line in the movie – and believe it or not, one of the most important for you as you head down your career or academic path. I can’t overstate the importance of humor and lightheartedness in the workplace. It can get you through a tense meeting or a tough project. It can help you resist the Dark Side and help you exist as a human within that bureaucratic system.

I think work should be FUN. But fun doesn’t mean goofing off or playing pranks on coworkers. For me, fun at work comes from shared mission, purposeful work, and remembering that we are all humans, serving humans. So don’t forget to laugh it up, Fuzzballs.

To end this speech today, I’d like to return to the beginning of the movie. In the opening scenes, Luke Skywalker rides out onto the frozen plains of Hoth, all alone. He ends up getting into a pinch with the Wampa and his comrades back at Rebel HQ are going to close the gates, as protocol dictates, and leave him out there for the night. Han Solo chooses to ride out and find him, risking everything to help his colleague. Han finds Luke nearly frozen to death and what does he do? He slits open his TaunTaun, stuffs Luke into it, and stands guard overnight, saving his friend’s life.

Just as I can guarantee that you will fail, I can also guarantee that sometime in your life or your career, you will need help. You will ride out on your own – with some crazy idea or on some new adventure – and things will go wrong. You will need someone to save you. Someone to slit open a Tauntaun and stuff your butt in it. You will need a Han Solo.

Look around – your Han Solo might be in this room right now. As you move forward with your new jobs and big ideas, remember to rely on the people right here. Your fellow SILSers, your professors, your advisors, and of course, your family and friends. They will be the ones to stuff you into a TaunTaun if need be and ride out a cold, dark night alongside you.

And don’t forget to be a Han for someone else. Be kind. Be generous. When everybody else wants to shut the gates on your colleague or friend, ride out, find them, support them.

Now it’s time for True Confessions, Librarian Style. Truth be told, I’ve never read Oh, The Places You’ll Go. Or The Last Lecture. Or The Tao of Pooh. But I have watched The Empire Strikes Back 4,264 times. And I am continually inspired by it.

Inspired to be like Kershner and stay true to my vision.

Inspired to not be Vader. Inspired to embrace my failures and remember the human purpose of work.

Inspired to listen to the C3POs out there. Who generally know more than me.

Inspired to resist the Dark Side. And reminded that it is easier and ever present.

Inspired by the Han Solos I’ve had in my life. And inspired to be a Han for someone else.

And there’s more! But in the interest of time, I won’t be able to cover Cloud City, or the significance of Boba Fett, or deconstruct the epic light saber battle between Vader and Skywalker. There’s more inspiration to glean from this movie – I encourage you to go and find it.

And inspiration is important. Important to the product you create and the perspective you bring. Some days, inspiration is necessary just to get up out of bed and head to the office for another day. That inspiration is all around you – in Dr. Seuss, Winnie the Pooh, or Star Wars. I hope I’ve provided a little for you today.

Congratulations, graduates. And may the force be with you. Always.

]]>http://658point8.com/2014/12/15/lessons-to-library-school-grads-dont-be-vader/feed/2susieblibrarianHoth_battleOMG! We got a JCD!http://658point8.com/2013/05/07/omg-we-got-a-jcd/
http://658point8.com/2013/05/07/omg-we-got-a-jcd/#commentsTue, 07 May 2013 12:39:18 +0000http://658point8.com/?p=1009Continue reading →]]>Recently, I received two great phone calls within a few weeks of each other. The first was from Chapel Hill, NC, offering me the position of director at the Chapel Hill Public Library. The second was from the John Cotton Dana Award committee, letting me know that a project I spearheaded at Lawrence Public Library was selected to receive a 2013 John Cotton Dana Award. If good things come in threes, I hope that Publisher’s Clearinghouse pops up on my Caller ID next!

The John Cotton Dana Award is called “the most prestigious award of the American Library Association.” Here’s a little more about it:

“The John Cotton Dana Award, provided in conjunction with the H.W. Wilson Foundation, the American Library Association and EBSCO Publishing, honors outstanding library public relations, whether a summer reading program, a year-long centennial celebration, fundraising for a new college library, an awareness campaign or an innovative partnership in the community.”

“With seven collectible trading cards featuring art inspired by banned books and created by local artists, Lawrence Public Library’s Banned Books Trading Card project sought to raise awareness of Banned Books Week in a unique way, engage the local arts community, and bring wider exposure to the talented artists living and working in our community. The project achieved these goals, garnered national media attention, and resulted in a few surprising outcomes that have given the project an extended life, long after the end of 2012’s Banned Books Week.”

The cards were a hit locally and nationally (and internationally!) but more importantly they were right in line with our marketing goals.

A huge part of our marketing efforts at LPL involves building partnerships and engaging different segments of our community. For this project, we created new partnerships with arts organizations and directly engaged local artists, a large segment of the local population.

We have worked to position the library as both a gateway to our community and a showcase for all of the unique aspects of it. By limiting the project to local artists, we were able to highlight just how artsy Lawrence is. Also, the project gives a very good glimpse into this college town’s values and their collective belief in intellectual freedom, the power of literature, and the importance of art.

As any successful library does, LPL also seeks to align ourselves with broad community and civic goals. Lawrence is currently working to become a regional and national arts destination, with a coalition of community groups marketing all of the artists, galleries, festivals, and venues. With the local, regional, and national media attention they received, the cards effectively highlighted the amazing artists living and working in Lawrence.

To read more about the project – or if you’ve ever wanted to know just what goes into an entry – check out our submission for the award. This three page narrative outlines the whole project, from concept to execution to the local (featured on the front page every day during the week) and national press coverage (Hello, HuffPost!) we received.

While the idea was unique and the press coverage was great, what really made the project great was the amazing artwork from artists living and working right here in Lawrence. The beautiful and engaging local art was my favorite part of the whole project.

My second favorite part of the project is yet to come. I received many, many emails and phone calls from libraries around the country asking if they could steal the idea. I told them “Of course! And we’re librarians, we borrow, we don’t steal!” I hope that for the 2013 Banned Books Week, we will see more libraries doing cards and they can be traded by libraries around the country.

For those who hold the purse strings at LPL, their favorite part is probably the money attached to the project. The $10,000 check that comes with the award is great, but what was really neat about the project was that we were able to meet national and international demand for the cards by selling them via our website. By doing a second print run of cards and quickly setting up a PayPal account, we were able to not only create a small revenue source for the library’s marketing budget, but we were also able to give a little something back to the artists, who submitted their pieces with no expectation of monetary gain. And yes, the cards are still available for purchase. We only have about two hundred sets left, so if you want one, order yours soon! To date, we have shipped cards to every state in the US, as well as England, Australia, and Canada.

And speaking of money, the project was made possible by the good folks at the Freedom to Read Foundation and their annual Judith F. Krug Memorial Grants. If you aren’t aware of them and their work, check out their website and Facebook page – Jonathan Kelly and crew are fighting the good fight! Also, LPL’s Friends of the Library generously matched the FTRF grant, providing additional money for printing, artist’s reception, and more.

And since this post is starting to run long like an Oscar speech, I have to thank two more people who were integral to this project. LPL is so lucky to have a Foundation to support it and an amazingly talented Foundation Director in Kathleen Morgan. She wrote the FTRF grant application and supported the project every step of the way. Also, I had tried to turn this idea into a reality for a few years without success. LPL’s fantastic new director, Brad Allen, greenlighted the project in his first month on the job last year. He saw not only the creative potential in the project but he also realized that it was a project that would resonate deeply in Lawrence, a town full of artists and intellectuals.

Although I’ll be working for Chapel Hill Public Library then, I’ll be at ALA in Chicago and will attend the John Cotton Dana Awards Ceremony on Sunday. I look forward to meeting the other award recipients and “trading” great ideas for innovative marketing and PR projects…

]]>http://658point8.com/2013/05/07/omg-we-got-a-jcd/feed/1susieblibrarianAnimal-Farm-Resized1-280x390SlaughterhouseResized-280x386Little-Red-Riding-HoodResized-280x381From Tarheel to Jayhawk to Tarheel….http://658point8.com/2013/03/18/from-tarheel-to-jayhawk-to-tarheel/
http://658point8.com/2013/03/18/from-tarheel-to-jayhawk-to-tarheel/#commentsMon, 18 Mar 2013 22:23:50 +0000http://658point8.com/?p=1003Continue reading →]]>I am thrilled to announce that I will be the next director of the Chapel Hill Public Library in Chapel Hill, NC. Almost seven years ago, my family left Chapel Hill to come to Lawrence, KS and we are pleased at the chance to return to a town that we love and a town that loves its library. I’ll spend the next few weeks wrapping up my marketing duties at Lawrence Public Library, and will take the helm of CHPL on May 20. I’ve had a great time and amazing opportunities here at Lawrence Public Library, where I’ve helped position the library as a deeply engaged community anchor and essential destination. I look forward to helping CHPL do the same!

Why is this? Clearly, lots of libraries are doing book displays and lots want to do them better. And why are book displays important? I offer this answer in the conclusion to the article:

“And if you are wondering why displays are important at all, I have just two words for you – book discovery. It is the buzzword of the moment for libraries, booksellers, and publishers, with conferences devoted to the concept and new products that aim to make it easier. There are some librarians who will lament that this fancy new buzzword reflects what we have always done – help readers find their next book. However, in an era where readers can find discover books in the supermarket, on their iPhone, via Amazon, and from social sites such as Goodreads and Pinterest, we need to make sure that libraries are engaged in book discovery and consider it a priority. Better book displays are just one way of helping readers discover great books.”

]]>http://658point8.com/2013/03/15/better-book-displays/feed/2susieblibrarianbathroomwwiinatgeogogreenknittingschoolSix Questions with Kathy Dempseyhttp://658point8.com/2013/02/19/six-questions-with-kathy-dempsey/
http://658point8.com/2013/02/19/six-questions-with-kathy-dempsey/#commentsTue, 19 Feb 2013 18:40:41 +0000http://658point8.com/?p=972Continue reading →]]>For this edition of the 658.8 Interview, I reached out to Kathy Dempsey, library marketing consultant and author of The Accidental Library Marketer. I’m a longtime follower of The M Word, a blog co-written by Kathy and Nancy Dowd. Kathy’s consulting business is called Libraries are Essential and if you aren’t already following her on Facebook, stop what you’re doing and go do it! You’ll get lots of great ideas and information every day. Done? Okay, now you can read her answers to my six questions.

1. Where did you get your library education? (And I’m not talking about where you went to library school, if you did go to library school!)

My unofficial library education started in high school, when I joined the Library Club. We were a small (geeky) group who spent some study-hall periods helping the librarian, Mrs. Hower. Then, at Temple University’s Ambler Campus, I had my work-study job in the library for 3 years, so I learned a ton of things. At that time (late ’80s), the TUAC library was switching from its card catalog to its first online catalog, and I helped check the books and link them to the proper MARC records.

After graduating from Temple with my Journalism degree, I accepted a full-time job in the library where I’d been working. I handled all the Reserves processing and ran a laptop loaner program. In later years, I added to my skillset by simultaneously working with Serials at Shenandoah University’s Smith Library and by being a part-time circ clerk at Winchester Public Library (both in Winchester, VA). I helped with electronic transitions at those two libraries too—and each was using a different OPAC vendor, so that got pretty interesting!

In the early ’90s I joined Information Today, Inc. and began editing the Marketing Library Services newsletter. Over the years there (almost 19 now!), I also edited books, wrote for the Information Today newspaper, and worked my way up to Editor in Chief of Computers in Libraries magazine. There’s nothing like working on publications that report on the latest news and cutting-edge technologies to give you a well-rounded education in a field. Running publications forces you to stay abreast of a wealth of information and to understand how it all fits together.

2. Who has taught you the most about libraries and/or marketing?

Back in my Temple days, it was definitely Sandi Thompson, TUAC’s main reference librarian. She taught me all the reference resources so I could help students with questions during the night / weekend hours that I worked without professional staff present.

As far as marketing, which has become my professional niche, nobody surpasses Dr. Christie Koontz of Florida State University, who has taught library marketing for years. I hired her to write Marketing Library Services’ first regular column, “Customer-Based Marketing,” and reading her work really solidified my knowledge. So much of what I do today goes back to Christie’s lessons.

The great thing is, I still get together with both Sandi and Christie at ALA conferences, and I’m so lucky to have these lasting relationships!

3. What’s the best book about marketing you’ve ever read?

It would seem arrogant to name my own book, The Accidental Library Marketer, but it would seem silly if I didn’t mention it. Honestly, I think TALM is an outstanding book because it covers the topic more completely than others, and it’s based on the Cycle of True Marketing that I created to help librarians understand how the process really works. And there must be something to it, because some universities are using TALM as a text for their MLIS marketing classes, which is quite an honor.

As for other books, there’s a collection of papers from SCONUL, the U.K.’s Society of College, National, and University Libraries, that really impressed me. It’s called Marketing Library Services—a SCONUL Working Paper.

4. What’s the title of a marketing book that needs to be written?

That’s a dangerous question! Let me see … as an impatient realist, I’d like to see Stop Making Cute Posters and Do REAL Marketing! or maybe You Need Marketing to Save Libraries in the Internet Age.

Chapter titles would include “Please Give Marketing a Budget!” and “If Directors Made Marketing a Priority, Life Could Be Easier,” along with “It’s Not About What YOU Want, It’s About What Customers Want.” OK, maybe those are less chapter titles and more what I wish I could scream to every administrator and board member in the world. <wink>

5. What’s the best marketing campaign you’ve ever been a part of?

That would have to be the one that won a John Cotton Dana award in 2010! I consulted on the New Jersey State Library’s “Tell Us Your Story” campaign, which asked libraries to get statements and stories from users about why they loved the library. It was more than that, though: Once the stories were written or recorded, subsequent steps asked the librarians to use them for publicity. Some stories stayed local, and others were picked up for a statewide campaign that reached citizens, legislators, etc. Some of the stories and videos were amazing.

The NJ State Library, under the guidance of marketing director Nancy Dowd, planned the whole campaign, doing surveys to see what would work, creating a brand and providing collateral materials to all participants, offering free marketing training, and planning a gala award ceremony that got good press coverage. It was the whole package.

6. What marketing campaign do you wish you’d been a part of?

Many of the initiatives that people refer to as “marketing campaigns” are really communications or publicity projects. So if I want to honestly answer what marketing campaign I wish I’d been able to work on, that narrows the field.

Library-wise, I’d have to say it’s “Building Your Base” from the Mid-Hudson Library System (MHLS) in New York state. This well-thought-out project reached out to various target markets with effective messages to educate them about public library services and ultimately to convince them to vote ‘yes’ when funding measures came to the ballot boxes. Rebekkah Smith Aldrich from MHLS did a great job with it, and has continued to take it to new heights with related follow-up campaigns that demonstrate how true marketing really works.

]]>http://658point8.com/2013/02/19/six-questions-with-kathy-dempsey/feed/0susieblibrarianTheAccidentalLibraryMarketerGreetings from Seattle!http://658point8.com/2013/01/25/greetings-from-seattle/
http://658point8.com/2013/01/25/greetings-from-seattle/#commentsFri, 25 Jan 2013 15:13:40 +0000http://658point8.com/?p=955Continue reading →]]>I’m in Seattle for the next few days, attending ALA Midwinter 2013. There’s lots of good stuff for marketers on the schedule – I’ll live tweet from as many events as possible and post a roundup of the conference next week. I’ll be at the PRTalk gathering this afternoon and if you are here in Seattle and want to connect, shoot me an email at 658point8@gmail.com or find me on Twitter at @658point8.

Also, I’ll share how I got here. I was awarded a sponsorship by the the fine folks at EBSCO and ALA. The competition asked for 250 words in response to the question, “The conversation starts here: How would you lead the discussion in your library to bring about meaningful change to an existing process, service, or procedure?” Here’s what I wrote:

In the age of e-books, maker spaces, and mobile apps, the conversation I want to lead in my library is about a non-technical, yet vitally important topic: customer service.

We are about to embark on a $19 million renovation and expansion that includes more computers, a maker space, and state-of-the-art technology throughout the building. However, as a marketing director who previously spent nearly twenty years on the reference desk, I realize that none of this will be meaningful change, unless we have great customer service to back it up.

I would lead this discussion by first ditching the term “customer service.“ Instead, I would talk about how today’s most successful public libraries are customer-centric. This goes beyond a smile at the reference desk. Being customer-centric means that every decision is made with our customers’ wants and needs in mind. A customer-centric organization is truly engaged and clearly relevant.

As marketing director, I can help make our library a customer-centric on by analyzing demographic data, identifying best practices, and starting conversations with our community. But to truly transform Lawrence Public Library into a customer-centric organization, I will need to energize and motivate staff and show them the value and reward of a customer-first approach.

At ALA Midwinter, I look forward to learning from and networking with professionals from cutting edge, customer-centric libraries so that I can return to Lawrence ready to lead the change — armed with great ideas and a smile from the marketing desk.

My essay reflects my core belief that libraries are, at their core, a human business. Books might be our brand, but our customers are our future. Figuring out what they want and how to deliver it is more important now than ever. Apparently, I’m not alone in this belief. The press release for the 2013 sponsorships notes that:

Each winner outlined a fresh approach to connecting with both patrons and colleagues to drive change in his or her library. Nonetheless, all of the essays shared a common theme of making patrons’ needs the central focus of the library’s goals and decisions. Some strategies for achieving this objective, according to the winners, include implementing more customer-centric decisions in the library; using the power of social media to serve under-reached patron groups; and bringing together patrons and library staff to meet the challenges associated with access to exclusive content.

I am so thankful to EBSCO and ALA for giving me the opportunity to come to Seattle and connect with other libraries and library marketers. Keep an eye out here for what I learn!

]]>http://658point8.com/2013/01/25/greetings-from-seattle/feed/1susieblibrarianalamw13Social Media on the Move – Part 1http://658point8.com/2013/01/08/social-media-on-the-move-part-1/
http://658point8.com/2013/01/08/social-media-on-the-move-part-1/#commentsWed, 09 Jan 2013 03:11:16 +0000http://658point8.com/?p=914Continue reading →]]>As a $19 million renovation and expansion project begins, my library – Lawrence Public Library – is in the process of moving into temporary headquarters. We are closed for two weeks while we move our collections and offices into – wait for it – a building that last housed a Borders bookstore!

This is not only a huge logistical undertaking, but it has been a major communications initiative as well. We have successfully used traditional tools – flyers, signs, e-blasts, press releases, etc. – to keep our community informed about the move. However, we have turned to new media methods to keep our community engaged and excited about what’s happening at their library.

This is the first of a two-part series that looks first at what we did on social media leading up to the move and then follows with a look at what we are doing during the move. Look for part two later this week.

In the weeks leading up to the move, we covered the traditional bases including:

Large vinyl banners in the lobby and signage at all public service desks

“We’re Moving” buttons and talking points issued to staff

Press release to media and community partners

Newspaper, radio, and TV ads

Updates on website and e-blasts to mailing lists

This is all important communication, but we have a large community following on social media who – rightly so – feel a great deal of ownership in the library. They were clamoring for more insight into the move – How would we accomplish it? Were we coping with the stress? Could they do anything to help?

In order to move from simply informing our public to engaging them in this process, we turned to social media. Over the past two years, we have positioned our library as a community-owned destination that is fresh and funky, hyper local and deeply engaged. Social media has played an important role in this positioning. I am also extremely fortunate to coordinate a social media team comprised of dedicated, professional, creative, and just plain fun folks. We got together a few months ago to brainstorm creative ways to spread the word about the pending move and closure. Here are some of the ideas we put into action.

– Since we are moving into a building formerly occupied by Borders, the running joke is “It will be just like Borders. Only free.” The “Free Borders” hook really resonates with our public. When the lease on the space was signed, we had a local sign company mock up an image of what the library sign would look like on the building. We put this image up on our Facebook page to make the announcement – note the number of likes, comments, and shares:

– Our Facebook team started a “Farewell to the Library” series of photos featuring staff members saying goodbye to various aspects of our building. Miss Linda has done story times for generations of Lawrence kids – the number of likes and shares prove she is a beloved community character:

– We also encouraged folks to stop by and check out 50 items – the maximum number allowed per card. This way, we would have less to move! This also resonated with folks, as seen in the responses to our posts and tweets, as well as in the circulation numbers in the days before we closed for the move:

– On Twitter, we tweeted frequently about the pending move, especially in the week or so leading up to the closure. Here’s some of our Twitter team’s handiwork:

And a few responses from our followers:

And our fledgling video team created this super creative piece:

The doors closed on Monday, January 7th and while we still had people coming up and reading the “Closed Until January 22nd” signs and scratching their heads, we also knew that a broad swath of our community had heard about the move from a variety of sources and through a mix of straight information and inventive storytelling.

Later this week, I’ll post about the *really* creative social media initiatives we have going on while we are closed. If you can’t wait until then, feel free to follow us on Facebook and on Twitter and see what’s happening.

And a personal note to Jenny, Kristin, Molly, Ransom, Tricia, Kevin, Jeff, Becca, Karen, and the rest of the LPL Social Media crew – if you are reading this, I send you my everlasting thanks and major WOOTS! Y’all are amazing.

For this installment of the 658.8 Interview, I went across the pond and reached out to Ned Potter. Ned is the author of The Marketing Toolkit and he writes about library marketing at his blog of the same name. His book is chock full of case studies and his site contains even more. I hope I get to meet Ned at a conference one day and chat between sessions!

1. Where did you get your library education? (And I’m not talking about where you went to library school, if you did go to library school!) Honestly, I got much of it online. Pretty much every day I’ll ask Twitter a question and apply the answers in my job. There’s so many great blogs out there – you can learn so much these days, without having to go anywhere or pay anything.

That said, events and conferences – particularly the little chats with people BETWEEN sessions rather than the presentations themselves – have been really important to me and my development. And there’s no substitute for just doing a job to really learn how it all works.

2. Who has taught you the most about libraries and/or marketing?

That’s a tough question. Marketing wise, Terry Kendrick has taught me a lot. I’ve been very aware of Stephen Abrams shaping my thinking, and filling in a lot of gaps for me about how marketing works in the Special Libraries environment. In terms of libraries in general Bobbi Newman has been a big influence on me, as has Andy Priestner in the UK.

3. What’s the best book about marketing you’ve ever read?

Aside from reading my own a billion times to proof read it, I must admit I’ve only read two in full! So I’ll call it a draw – Terry Kendrick’s Strategic Marketing Plans that Really Work, and Nancy Dowd et al’s Bite-Sized Marketing.

4. What’s the title of a marketing book that needs to be written?

That’s a great question. I can think of a million. What about ‘Actually most people DON’T need authoritative information, Google is fine 99% of the time – so what else are you going to get them in through the doors?’ Or ‘Stop marketing to people who already like your library anyway’ Or maybe ‘Stop worrying about upsetting a tiny minority, and start trying to inspire the people that matter’. Sorry, I know that all sounds slightly cynical and cross! But I think these are important issues, we do need to confront this stuff head on. I’d love to read a library marketing book written by a non-librarian.

5. What’s the best marketing campaign you’ve ever been a part of?

Over the summer I managed our Marketing Intern, who was a film-maker – together we made about 20 films to market the library at the University of York (UK). You can see the results at www.youtube.com/yorkinformation. It was completely absorbing (and exhausting – the day we shot the Virtual Tour I felt like my 9-5 had lasted about 24hrs!) and the results have been great. Marketing with video is something we all need to be doing now, and I think we’ve done it well at York.

6. What marketing campaign do you wish you’d been a part of?

Library-wise, it’s hard to see past Troy Public Library in Michigan – their brilliant book burning campaign on YouTube. So brave, ultimately so effective, and so atypical! Fantastic stuff. It’s not just well-executed, and attention-grabbing, and modern – it changed people’s behaviour. That’s what we should be trying to achieve.

At Lawrence Public Library, we have developed a social media presence that is engaging, responsive, locally-focused, and fun. While we post a lot of funny memes, share book-related photos (often cats are involved), and ask goofy questions, there is actually a well thought out strategy behind it. A strategy that in the past two years has tripled our following on Facebook and Twitter, led to increased engagement on both platforms, and resulted in real, measurable outcomes such as increased partnerships, new programs, and a higher visibility in our community.

When I began coordinating our social media just over two years ago, I realized that we needed a guiding document, but I did not want a lengthy policy piece – something that detailed exactly what can and cannot be said on social media, who can and cannot say it, or full of language that might stifle creativity or seem too corporate in tone.

What I did want was something that would outline who we wanted to be on social media, what we wanted to do, and lay out some basic rules of engagement. I also wanted it to be short! Here the text of the one-page document that developed:

LAWRENCE PUBLIC LIBRARY SOCIAL MEDIA PRINCIPLES

OUR PURPOSE – Why do we do social media? What is our goal?

– To inform and engage our community
– To listen to and respond to our customers
– To market our services, programs, and collections
– To position ourselves as a knowledge leader and essential destination on the Lawrence social media network

OUR STRATEGY – How will we work toward our goals?

– Promote our community and partner organizations
– Start conversations with our users by asking questions and gathering opinions
– Participate in conversations happening in the community
– Actively listen to what customers are saying and respond appropriately
– Build relationships by passing along content of others – community partners, local bloggers, etc.
– Promote our events, collections, and services

– We will be honest and authentic, not snarky or sarcastic
– We will be respectful to all commenters, positive and negative
– We will say please and thank you
– We will not post anything on social media that we would not say at a service desk

That’s it! When a new Social Media Team member comes on board, I review this with them and then turn them loose. This approach requires a certain level of trust, but it has not steered us wrong. It also helps that I recruit staff who are already somewhat engaged in social media in their personal lives.

Two things I’ll highlight in this document – 1. I purposefully did not call it a policy, instead it reflects our principles. Instead of a top-down, bureaucratic tone, this helps engender the idea that we are all working toward a shared goal with a shared vision 2. The final bullet point – We will not post anything on social media that we would not say at a service desk. – has served us well. We do some edgy things on social media, but the “service desk” test has developed has a great way to check ourselves and make sure that we aren’t going over the edge.

Join this – There’s a new Facebook group for library marketing folks, hosted by Nancy Dowd and the crew at LibraryAware. If you’d like to join the group and share library marketing ideas and info, visit the page and click the join/request membership link.